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Movie Review - Music and Lyrics (2007)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Marc Lawrence |
| Starring: |
Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Brad Garrett, and Kristen Johnson |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for some sexual content) |
| Length: |
96 minutes |
| Genre: |
Romantic Comedy |
| Tagline: |
None. |
| Studio: |
Warner Bros. |
| Website: |
Music and Lyrics |
| Release: |
February 14, 2007 |
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PLOT
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Alex Fletcher (Grant) is a washed-up 80s pop star whose career has been reduced to playing amusement parks
and high school reunions. However, he is given the opportunity for a comeback when pop diva Cora Corman
asks him to write and record a duet with her. The problem is that he always wrote music, not lyrics, and
he only has a couple of days to get the job done.
In walks Sophie Fisher (Barrymore). Initially serving as a substitute for Alex's regular plant lady,
Sophie demonstrates a way with words, convincing Alex that she is to be his lyricist. Now he just has to
convince her of the same. A respectful mockery of the 80s pop music scene ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Music and Lyrics is, for lack of a more masculine word, cute. If movies literally had pores and
if cuteness were a tangible substance, then this film would be oozin' it. Sounds like I may have just given
the Sci Fi Channel their next "original" movie idea.
There's really only one result you can expect from a Valentine's Day collaboration of Hugh Grant, Drew
Barrymore, and 80s pop music, and "complex, intellectual murder mystery" ain't it. Formulaic filmmaking
might not be an art, but it can be a craft, and the filmmakers have designed this specifically to meet the
needs of their target audience, and they'll make a healthy chunk of change because of it.
So be it. What are the movie's chances of making my "Top 10 Comedies of All Time" list? Better than
Rosie O'Donnell's chances of making my "Top 10 Thin Hotties of All Time" list, but still not great. But
who cares? It has a certain charming cheesiness to it, just like the 80s era that it's mocking. It
succeeds in that it never takes itself too seriously, yet it thankfully avoids over-the-top
stupidity as well.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for 80s nostalgia, considering that was my childhood, but as corny as the fashion and
the music of the time was, you know we all have a certain, inexplicable fondness for it, and Music and
Lyrics handles its mockery quite cleverly, especially in the opening video sequence.
Combine that with Grant's usual great line delivery, Drew's ability to cutely do what she always cutely
does in all her cute romantic comedies, and you've got a mildly entertaining night at the theater.
It might not deliver a laugh a minute, but it kept me smiling consistently, inspired a handful of
guffaws, and sent the majority of the audience home happy and humming the made-up tunes. That's a
testament to the filmmakers' ability to make authentic-sounding 80s tunes, but it may prove slightly
annoying when you still can't get Pop Goes My Heart out of your head three days later.
I'm not gonna try to convince all you Van Damme fans that this is for you. I won't attempt to sell this
one to all you history/war aficionados out there. And I'm sure not gonna suggest that you see this on
"guys night out."
You are either intrigued by the pairing of Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore in a romantic comedy or you're
not. It's that simple. There are no false pretenses here. No blind alleys. No misconceptions. File
this one under "meets expectations" and agree to see it with your sweetie or not. You should be
aware of the consequences of that decision as well, so choose wisely.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Stay through the closing credits. The "pop up" video at the end humorously ties up some loose
ends.
- There's a coffee shop in Memphis called "Faith Music & Coffee." For some reason I always refer to it
as "Faith and Music." This has forced me to often refer to this film as "Faith and Music," leading to
looks of bewilderment from whomever I happen to be talking to at the time.
- Hugh Grant was immediately taken with the script. "I read a lot of romantic comedies and there are very
few that make me laugh out loud on the page. This one did. I think Marc Lawrence is truly funny as a
writer, though I have never liked him as a man," he says with his tongue firmly placed in cheek.
- To craft some of PoP's signature songs and Alex's musical voice, Lawrence hired Adam Schlesinger, one
of the songwriters for Fountains of Wayne, the director's favorite band. Schlesinger, who wrote the catchy
title song for the Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do, wrote Don't Write Me Off, Meaningless
Kiss, and Way Back Into Love, the last of which represents the product of Alex and Sophie's
first collaboration.
- Writers Andrew Wyatt and Josh Deutsch wrote Pop Goes My Heart, PoP's signature number one hit.
"It's a terrific song," says Lawrence, "very faithful to the era and very true." A music video for the
song - showcasing Flock of Seagulls' hair, checkerboard backdrops, dancers in tight nurses' uniforms and a
stereotypical '80s light-up heart - was filmed and is featured at the beginning of the film.
- It's almost certain that Josh Deutsch has been called "Josh Douche" on more than one occasion.
- Grant personally enjoyed Alex's '80s flashback. "The video was a lot of fun. There are all these shots
of the band playing in various costumes, and we acted out these ridiculous stories in a cheesy way. We
watched loads of Duran Duran to prepare. I had to wear an enormous amount of rouge. I look a bit like a
Parisian madam," Grant smiles.
- >Possibly the most serendipitous moment of Lawrence's search for music came when his own 12-year-old
son, Clyde, approached his father with a song he thought might work in the film.
"Clyde wrote Dance With Me Tonight because he felt PoP needed a ballad," says the director with
pride. "'I loved the song, but I'm obviously biased, so I thought I should play it for other people without
telling them who wrote it. I didn't want them to like it just because it was written by my son ... and they
loved it," he beams. "Besides, Clyde works cheap. A couple of tickets to the Mets game and his deal was
paid up."
- "When I took the part of Alex I couldn't sing or play. I'd taken a year of piano when I was nine years
old with Andrew Lloyd Webber's mother as my instructor, but I gave it up," laments Grant. "But they hired
the very best people to knock me into shape musically for the film and I actually started enjoying it. I
didn't realize how soothing playing the piano could be. I'd get back from a long day's work and I'd play
and sing deep into the night. I came to frankly adore the sound of my own voice though no one else
did."
- Production designer Jane Musky and her talented graphics team designed a catalog of '80s memorabilia
for the film. "We created an entire campaign for PoP with posters, records and CDs. We did a photo shoot
with the band in their '80s outfits and then another shoot with Hugh where he was photo-shopped into all
different sorts of situations," explains the designer. "We visually created his entire career over a
two-day photo shoot with many costume, prop and makeup changes. With these photos, we made memorabilia;
posters, magazine covers and articles, giving PoP a graphic history."
- Lawrence tapped Susan Lyall to create the costumes, citing her experience as "a bit of a rocker
herself" to give her inside knowledge of Alex's world.
"I just dove into the '80s research," states Lyall. "The fashion is all about shoulder pads; they have to
be a good foot on each side. It's also informed by the hair and high-waisted pants, things that seem
strange to us now even though it wasn't that long ago."
- Much of Lyall's source material came from '80s pop band Duran Duran, particularly band front man,
Simon Le Bon.
- Hugh Grant was in About a Boy with Toni Collette who was in The Dead Girl with Josh
Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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I can't recall too much offensive material. Maybe a stray bit of profanity here and there, and a little
premarital sex to ruffle mama's feathers, but nothing explicit. This one's fairly clean by today's
standards.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer is a pretty accurate guide of what to expect.
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THE GIST
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Those of you with an affection for Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, and/or 80s pop music should walk away
smiling.
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